Improvement in locks for valises



A. OBERNDOR'FER. LOCKS FORVALISES, &c.

No. 194,715 Paiented Afi 28,1877.

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MPETERS. FNOTO-LITHDGRAPHER. W iSHlNGTON, ll. 0.

UNITED STATES ABRAM oBERNnoRFER,

0F NORFOLK, VIRGINIA.

IMPROVEMENT |N LbCKS Fo'RvALlsE's, ac.

Specification fdrniiiig part of Letters Patent No. 194,715, dated August28, 1877; application filed July 20,1877.

To all whom it mag eoncein:

Be it known that I, ABRAM OBERNDORFER,

for Valises, Carpet-Bags, and Satchels; and,

I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, andeiiactdescription thereof, which will enable othersskilled in the art towhich it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had-to theaccompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon,which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in fastenings for valises,carpet-bags, and similar articles; and consists in certain deviceswithin a central lock, and spring catches attached thereto, so that, forthe better security of the article, the sides and corners are fastenedinteriorly, and are released simultaneously by the means of the key, allof which will be more particularly hereinafter described and set forthin the claims.

Figure 1 represents an inside view of one side of the clasp-frame,showing the lock and its connections. Fig. 2 is a similar view of theother frame and catches. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section on one side ofFig. l at w m. Fig. 4. is a transverse section on liney y, Fig. 1. Figs.5 to 10, inclusive, are details, which will be referred to in thegeneral description. Fig. 11 is a perspective view of the two slideswithin the lock.

A is one side of the clasp-frame, which has a flange, A, all around it.(See Fig. 4.) B is the other frame, which is fitted neatly and exactlywithin the flange A, and is hinged to A at a a, Fig. 1, and in thedrawing (for want of space) is represented as broken at b b. At thecentral part of A, at the top, is the lock G, the various parts andmovements of which are represented in the Figs. 5 to 8 in detail. 0 isan l -shaped slide, to which is attached a rod, 0, on which is a stop,a, and a loose collar, 0. This rod 0 rests in a slotted guide,

(1''. Around the rod is a coiled spring, d,

which bears against the collar 0' and the shoulder of a rectangularsliding bolt, 0, at

the end of the rod 0. On the lower side of C is a projecting tappet, 0,and at its end a recess, on the side next to plate A, which forms a lip,m, as seen in Fig. 10, for the catch F from the upper plate B. In thelock 0 is another slide, 0, which has in it a notch, e, and a stem, 6,the other end being mortised out, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7, whichpermits slide 0 to move into it. To the'end of e is attached a rod, 0,with stop, collar, guide, spring, and slide-bolt O and tappet 0, allsimilar to and operated like those described above, and attached to rodc. The slidec has'a stem, f,

which, at its upper end, i'saslightly. beveled, and extends upward toform a check to the spring g, so that when the lock is fast, as shown inFigs. 1, 5, and 6, thespring cannot be forced inwardly; but when theslide 0 is moved in the act of unlocking, as. in Fig. 8, the stem f ismoved out of the way, and spring 9 can be moved inwardly, as seen indotted lines, and the catch g be released, and the two parts A and B canbe separated. If the two frames are properly adjusted to each other forthe purpose, so soon as the spring releases 9 the two parts A and B willspring asunder when the thumb-piece khas been forced down. When spring 9is resting upon f there is sufficient elasticity in the spring to permitthe catch F to be forced into place, notwithstanding that thelockis'closed; but when in this relation, and the catch in place, it cannotbe opened from the outside without theuse of the proper key. h and h areguides for slides c and a. At each side of A are bell-crank levers D D,which are operated bythe projecting tappets 0 0 on slide-bolts O 0.Attached to levers D D are rods l I, having springs l l and loosecollars c, and working in guides at d, and having slide-bolts E E at theend. Said bolts have lips similar to O G for the reception of hooks F onB. (See Fig. 3.) Similar hooks F F are on the corners of B, and catch inthe lips of O O.

The slide-bolts O O are properly guided by pieces 11 i, in which arescrew-holes, and on which are confined the cap-piece (represented indotted lines) and the cap to the central lock is also represented indotted lines, the caps all being removed from Fig. 1 to exhibit theinterior details.

Fig. 9 represents the key used in the central lock. The single ward 1,when the key is to be inserted, must be above; and as it is turned itmoves the stem f in the direction of the arrow, while the double ward 1moves correspondingly the stem f of slide e in the opposite direction,until the longer diameter of the key spreads the two stems apart justfar enough to draw the slide-bolts c c at the corners and E E on thesides away from the catches, thusreleasing four of the fastenings, andonly retaining the central hook g by the spring 9. Now, by pressing downthe thumbpiece It, the spring 9 can pass stem f, and release hook g, andinstantly B and A spring asunder.

The advantages of these improvements are, first, a valise or bag withthem cannot be opened when left temporarily in car, steamboat, or room,while traveling. Bags held by a look at top and books at the cornersandsides on the outside can be easily sprung open, and articles abstracted,without violating the lock. When hooks are used on the outside they areliable to be broken off, and are con stantly in the way, and troublesomein opening or closing. Hence I claim a great improvement over alloutside fastenings by the method of liolding the corners and sides fromwithin, believing that I am the first to apply these improvements forthe purpose set forth.

The springs 11 at around rods 0 may be dis- I slides O G" by means ofthe bell-cranks D D and tappets 0". Rods l l and all the attachments maybe dispensed with, and the bolts 0 C only used, wherethe frame is notrequired to be so deep as here represented.

Having described the invention, what I claim isl. The lock-slide a,working within the slide 0, in combination with the corner bolts 0 O andslide-bolts F F, connected together by rods and cranks, and recoiled bysprings, all substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. The combination of an assistant claspspring, g, with the stem f ofthe slide 0, so that the latter must be moved before the spring can beoperated to release the clasp or hook g, which holds the cover, andwhereby the clasp or hook y can be fastened without the use of the key.

3. Combination of the slide 0, working inside of slide 6, with the key,so that the last will hold the parts 0 and e, and retain all the boltsconnected with them unfastened.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I affix my signaturein presence of two witnesses. I

ABRAM' OBERNDORFER.

Witnesses:

WM. R. SINGL TON, J. W. HAMILTON JOHNSON.

